New world policies

New world policies

Before the United States became a nation of its own, it was under British rule, but was still given some freedoms from the British government. Between 1763 and 1776 the British policies for the 13 colonies changed dramatically, causing the colonists to start boycotting British goods, and to stop depending on the British government. The original British policies were primarily based on the concept of salutary neglect, focusing only on import and export duties to control trade, and the promotion of trade. Previous policies allowed the colonists to enjoy certain political freedom, and allowed them to develop colonial assemblies. Different from the original policies, the policies between 1763 and 1776 were primarily based on revenue raising, including internal taxation, which was previously left to the colonists. The colonists would become “reluctant revolutionists” after these policies were adopted, because of the break in the bond between the colonists and Great Britain because of the new policies, as well as Parliament trying to take away rights that the colonists would refuse to give up.British policies between 1763 and 1776 were focused on using the colonies to raise revenue in ways that the colonists saw as unconstitutional. The change in these acts and the colonists’ reaction was the start of a battle of wills between the colonists and parliament over the principle of taxation. The start of the change in policies was the writs of assistance. The writs of assistance was passed to discourage smuggling, but it was a general warrant that allowed officials to enter any ship where smuggled goods may or may not be hidden. The warrant required no prior evidence for a search; colonists saw this as a breach of their constitutional rights. The writs of assistance also got rid of traditional privacy of families’ homes, because most merchants businesses were home based. Three years following the trial against the writs of assistance, was the passing of the Sugar Act. The...

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